"Shame," Nil muttered inaudibly before raising Cora's pokeball to return her to it for rest. That last move had been particularly effective, but it hadn't been enough. This early on, it could have went either way. Besides, it was his job to see that she, along with any other pokemon he managed to catch, got stronger and stronger so they could better defend themselves. Battling was important when it came to being a coordinator anyway, seeing as how there's an actual battle round in contests.

He walked over to Selena and looked down at the Chikorita. It certainly was a sturdy little thing. "Tough luck for us," he spoke emotionlessly and shrugged his shoulders, looking over at the girl who had been drawing the whole time.

Serah had finished her drawing, biased as it may have been, it depicted Chikorita in all of its battling magnificence. Treecko on the other hand, was a little less magnificent. Chikorita had been given the main perspective, its powerful stride and presence well shown. Treecko, however, was in the background, like a shady thief that was trying to escape from the powerful other.

Just a few more lines, and finally the portrait was finished, all that it required now was some better focused shading than the little she had done. But all in all it was still a magnificent piece documenting the battle.

"I'm almost finished. I'll add the rest of the shading later."

She turned the sketchpad around, giving the other two perfect view of the drawing. She knew it might not go over so well with the Treecko trainer, but she didn't care. The original idea of the Pokemon Artist was to draw the truth of pokemon, whether it was pride or shame. And she had done just that, so as long as she was happy with it nothing else mattered.

Nil turned his back on the sketch and the two girls. It didn't really bother him personally, but when he thought about Cora, he couldn't help but to feel a little something for her. To think that a bond had already formed between himself and the Treecko, even if it was just a new, weak one. She was his first pokemon, after all. Nil shook his head.

"Looks like you have a fan," he said indiffirently, the comment directed at Selena. "I forget that pokemon that lose aren't worth the effort." With that, he merely walked down a path leading away from the pokemon lab in order to contemplate amongst other things. He couldn't help but notice that Cora was lacking in showy moves. Unfortunately, that was only something that could be fixed with time and training. Ideas of how he was going to help Cora become a fantastic contest pokemon filled his mind as he continued on his little stroll.

Kris was eager to start his journey. After watching the battle between the two grass types from the sidelines, he was psyched and a tad impatient to get his own Pokemon to train. He could had taken on of the pokemon his father raised, but he preferred to battle with pokemon that he raised and trained himself. A matter of pride.

He knocked on the door of the professor's lab. The best place to start any journey was at one of pokemon labs. Judging from the battle he witnessed, he wasn't the only one starting off. Kris openned the door and called out. "Hello, is prof. Birch here?"

Serah instantly dropped the sketchbook to her lap and waved at the newcomer. He had been watching the battle, she just hadn't really payed attention to him. She never really payed much attention to other things than the focus of the portrait when drawing. Gathering her things, she stood and moved over to him, a warm smile on her face.

"Professor Birch should still be in there. I mean we just left a before that battle happened so..."

"Really? Thanks!" Kris grinned. He waved back at her as she headed over. She seemed nice enough. And appeared to be an artist of some form too. She probably sketched the battle that just happened. Maybe he could get a look at later. But for now, the professor had his mostly undivided attention. He rubbed his hands together eagerly.

"My own pokemon," he said, hardly able to contain his glee. He yelled into the open doorway. "Professor! I need you!"

Selena bent down, stroking Chikorita's back and whispering praise to the pokemon. The Chikorita fidgeted slightly, but the unmistakable purring sound that came from it caused a smile to grow on Selena's lips. "You like that, huh?" Selena asked rhetorically, her grin continuing to grow as Chikorita moved her head away in a huff.

Selena stood back up, and with one look at the picture and Nil's retreating back, Selena immediately followed Nil. Chikorita stayed behind for a few seconds, considering if she should follow her new trainer. Figuring that it would be a good idea to do so, Chikorita bounced up next to Selena's flashing feet. Selena reached out, lightly placing her hand on Nil's shoulder and saying, "Wait."

Selena stopped in her tracks, waiting for Nil's attention. Once she had it, Selena continued, "Don't worry about what a spectator thinks about your pokemon. All that really matters is what you think of your pokemon's performance. If I may, I would like to say that your Treeko's agility was absolutely stunning." Selena licked her lips, remembering more of the battle that had just happened. "If she fought against a pokemon not of the Grass-type, I believe the battle would have tilted in your favor a lot more.

"I learned a lot from that battle, but I think you learned more. Losing in moderation is actually a good thing." Selena paused, now to gather her thoughts. She looked down at Chikorita and smiled. "Thanks for that compliment earlier, by the way. I really do love my Chikorita."

~

"Yes, come in!" Professor Birch shouted from the back room. "Your things are on the table just next to the door! I am working on an experiment right now, and this pokemon is extremely sensitive to humans!"

Nil felt pressure on his shoulder and stopped in his tracks. He turned around to face her, his expression unreadable due his mask. Listening to what she had to say, he ended up shrugging his shoulders. "Save your words for someone who really needs them," he responded. "I'm not one to dwell on stupid things. Besides, Cora handled herself well. It was only one loss. And it was our first battle. I wasn't expecting amazing results. Call me a realist if you want."

He turned his masked face to the sky and jammed a hand into one of his pockets. "We'll continue to fight. We'll grow stronger together. Seeing Cora fight only served to make that purpose deep-seated--completely rooted in this nearly useless heart of mine." The free hand gently went to his heart. When it came to pokemon and his ultimate goal, he couldn't help but to feel a bit emotional. Everything else passes right over his head; he had to have something to live for. So, he'd live for Cora and any other pokemon he caught and make them stronger.

"You'll see. My pokemon will be some of the most stunning you've ever seen," he concluded, turning his attention back to her. "Just give it time." He thought for a second. "If you were worried that I wasn't coming back, you didn't have to be. I was just going for a stroll. Though, I'm curious as to why I just don't go off by myself." That thought was an interesting one. It would be a quiet and lonely journey. Seeing as how he really didn't favor loud or quiet, or lonely or accompanied, it really didn't matter. Selena was nice and the other girl was...expendable in Nil's book. She'll definitely be worth sacrificing when the time comes... he thought before shaking his head.

"Guess we might as well journey together if you want," he stated simply. "I don't really care if you do or not. Just let me know so I can be on my way should you deny."

"All right Professor!" Kris called back. He idly wondered what pokemon the professor was working with. Any pokemon could be sensitive to humans given the right circumstances, so that wasn't a clue. The table held a pokedex, a handful of unused pokeballs and one other that could only be holding his new partner. He picked up the pokedex and held it up to the light, examining it from different angles. He had seen one before, but never got to use it. He jumped when it flipped open. "Cooool!" he murmured. "Wonder how I get it to work... Find out later."

Shoving the pokedex in one of his jacket's inside pockets, he reached for the pokeball. As some as he touched it, it popped open and his partner burst out in a flash of light. Looking up from red rimmed eyes, a chimchar smiled at him. "Nice!" Kris grinned. he stuck out a hand at the pokemon. "Hi! I'm Kris. I'll going to be your partner." Chimchar grabbed his hand and turned it over, as if looking to see if any thing was it it, then leapt unto his chest before crawling around to cling to his back. He peered over Kris' shoulder and nuzzled his neck.

"I guess you like me?" Kris grinned again. He pocketed the five pokeballs and ruffled the fur on the little pokemon's head. "You'll need a name... how bout Shane?" Chimchar voiced his approval.

As the new trainer had entered the building, Serah's attention had shifted directly over to the other two. She ran over to them, completely forgetting the other trainer who had just run in. Forcing her way into the conversation, she voiced her innocence.

"I in no way believe your Treecko to be weak. I just draw what I see, the reason Chikorita looks so triumphant is because it got the upper hand. Treecko is in the background, not just for its lack of advantage, but also its agility. I in no way meant to offend you, I can get rid of the sketch if you'd like."

She was truly sorry about it all. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and last time it had been worse. And she had just met the stranger, she didn't want to leave a bad impression. Though she feared she had.

"I would love to travel with you!" Selena said brightly, "It would be better to travel in numbers anyway, just in case something goes wrong." Selena walked forward until she was next to Nil and smiled at him. Selena now started pulling something out of her bag, which she had flipped over her shoulder again. It was a hat. Selena carefully placed the item on top of her head, then nodded at Nil. She was ready.

"If you don't mind-" Selena started, but was interrupted by a series of barking sounds. She blinked a few times, focusing her hearing on the barking. "I recognize that sound!" Selena said excitedly, and just as she had said that, a brown-and-white blur dashed into the clearing from a nearby shrubbery and ran into Nil's leg. "Zigzagoon." Selena laughed, watching the small dog-like pokemon fell to the ground in a lump.

The Zigzagoon whined a little before shaking it's head and standing up. It noticed the two humans and pokemon staring at it, and jumped back, barking at them. Chikorita then decided to ignore it, turn around, and go to sleep.

"What will you do, Nil?" Selena asked, "I would try to capture it, but Chikorita doesn't seem to want to."

Nil was a little surprised by Selena's excitement at the mention of traveling together, but that faded as the apologies of the artist fell upon deaf ears. "Stow it," he told her flatly. "I said I didn't care and I don't. I don't know how to express that any more clearly." He could have went on, but he didn't feel like wasting his breath on the girl who wasn't even deserving of it. That's when the Zigzagoon entered the picture. He gazed at the thing all riled up and ready for a fight. To Nil, it wasn't an ideal catch, but at least he'd have another pokemon.

"If Cora is feeling better, then I shall defend myself," he said, enlarging Cora's pokeball. "Cora, the show is yours!" he exclaimed roughly and tossed the ball into the air after which Cora emerged and landed gracefully on her feet. I will definitely be able to work something out with that soon, he took note of Cora's landing in his thoughts. For now, he had to focus on the task at hand: capturing the Zigzagoon.

Wild Pokemon Battle Settings:-The defending side will be displayed in blue.-The wild pokemon will be displayed in red.-The trainer will be displayed in green.-Positions of these three are predetermined. Usually in a straight-line form.-The defending trainer has the first move.-You may flee at any time.

"Well then," Nil started, expression unknown as usual with his tone not really hinting as to what he was feeling. "Cora, start with Leech Seed." Cora nodded and hurled a handful of seeds at the wild pokemon, hoping to capture it in a net of parasitic vines that would end up draining its health only to restore her own, not that it needed restoring at the moment.

Nil took out his pokedex. "Might as well see what this thing's all about while I'm at it." He pointed the device at the pokemon now under assault. A computerized voice relayed information in response. "ZIGZAGOON. THE TINY RACCOON POKEMON. IT WALKS IN A ZIGZAG FASHION AND IS KNOWN FOR FINDING INTERESTING ITEMS IN THE GRASS OR EVEN IN THE GROUND." Nil shook his head. Okay...

The Zigzagoon yelped loudly, caught off-guard by the net of seeds that entrapped it and were sucking out it's energy. The dog-like pokemon shook it's head and with a burst of speed, attacked the Treeko in a blinding flash of light.

"Leer," Nil stated simply. It seemed the seed had worked out perfectly. Now, he could take his time in lowering the pokemon's defenses before setting Cora loose on it.

In response to her trainer's command, Cora gave the raccoon pokemon an intense glare, unnerving it to the point of its defenses being lowered. It would make it a lot easier to actually deal some damage to it.

Cora still didn't feel quite right, but she nevertheless did as she was instructed. She dashed forward and landed a blow to the Zigzagoon's face with her fist. It might have done much, but both the physical attacks and the leech seed were going to take their toll on it.

"It's hopeless," Nil stated and pointed at the Zigzagoon. As if she could read her trainer's mind, Cora laid into the Zigzagoon's face with her fist. It felt good to actually have a great fight, not just because she was winning, but because she was winning even though this Zigzagoon really knew how to fight. She glanced at Nil, but received no response.

"Well, here goes," Nil stated, taking out one of his empty pokeballs and enlarging it. "Cora, stand down and retreat. I've got this from here." With that, he hurled the pokeball at the Zigzagoon, aiming to trap it inside. Meanwhile, Cora gained distance from the little beast seeing that her master's intent was what she thought it was going to be.

Nil caught the pokeball as it returned to him, still empty. "Well, that was disappointing. Cora, hold your ground. You'll be fine as long as that thing is seeded. Here's to a second try," he said as he hurled the pokeball once again in an attempt to capture it. The seed was weakening it more and more. It wouldn't be able to resist for long.